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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30138987">The Girl in the Photograph</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeutronStarChild/pseuds/NeutronStarChild'>NeutronStarChild</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops &amp; Cafés, College, F/M, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Photography, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 17:35:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,904</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30138987</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeutronStarChild/pseuds/NeutronStarChild</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Two years ago, Inuyasha found a photograph in the garbage in the dark room. He should have left it there, but he couldn’t. True, the composition was excellent and the lighting just perfect, but it was the way the girl’s eyes that stared back up and out of the photograph that captured his heart. The girl, he realized, who was sitting across from him at Musashi Coffee. A girl that Inuyasha desperately needed to know.</p><p>A gift fic for <a href="https://kalcia.tumblr.com/">kalcia</a> that also features her incredible commissioned art!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Higurashi Kagome/InuYasha</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>97</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Divergent Adventures of Inuyasha</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Living Picture</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/kalcia/gifts">kalcia</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
<a href="https://kalcia.tumblr.com/post/646098942151589888/neutronstarchild-being-her-absolute-sweet-self">

</a>
</p><p>Artwork commission by <a href="https://kalcia.tumblr.com">kalcia</a></p>
<hr/><p><em>A picture is worth a thousand words</em>. That was what Professor Hitomiko had drilled into them in Inuyasha’s elective photography class. They were words that stuck with him when he went into the dark room and began developing the first film photos he’d ever taken. It was ‘for perspective’, Dr. Hitomiko had once said, so that he could better appreciate the DSLR that he’d scrimped and saved for.</p><p>That day in the dark room truly had been special.<br/>
Because that day, he had found it. The <em>picture.</em><br/>
Crumpled and discarded in the bin in the back of the space: <em>her</em>.<br/>
The photo itself was a well-composed black and white shot, with a soft light that touched her face <em>just so</em>.<br/>
Her face, which had found him in that dark room, and had compelled him to save it, fishing it out of the trash.<br/>
On her face was the same melancholy of Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Woman, staring off into the distance, some unknown but profound grief weighing on her heart.<br/>
He could never forget her once he saw her face. But, save for the photo, he was doomed never to see her again.</p><p><strong><em>Until now.<br/>
</em></strong>Because that day, in Musashi Coffee shop, Inuyasha came face to face with the girl in the photograph.</p><p>She was the same. He could see it in the cascading obsidian hair that caressed her shoulders as she worked on her laptop. And from the lush eyelashes that decorated her soulful eyes. Her cheekbones and nose too, the same. Her lips were pink and plump, and she bit down on them in concentration.</p><p>If Inuyasha had been a braver man, he would have marched up to the woman and introduced himself. He would have asked her who took her picture 2 years ago, and why he found it crumpled in the wastebasket of the dark room. He would have apologized for freeing it, and smoothing it out so that he could look at her whenever he needed inspiration, or was having a bad day.</p><p>There was something in her eyes that captured Inuyasha, haunted him. Made him desperately want to find her and comfort away the tranquil pain buried in them.</p><p>Now here she was, her sparkling brown eyes following something intently on her laptop screen. The color of her evoked the feeling of walking deep into a forest and listening to the leaves crunch underfoot, as the black and white photo had not given away the color of her mesmerizing eyes.</p><p>“Ey Kagome!” the red-haired barista called from the counter. <em>Her name was Kagome</em>. “Your skim latte is ready!”</p><p>The woman—<em>Kagome</em>—rose from her seat and walked past Inuyasha toward the counter, throwing him a sidelong glance on her way. She smiled and picked up the green ceramic mug, then headed directly back to her seat in the corner, and back to her laptop.</p><p>Musashi Coffee was meant to be a one-time thing, to get Inuyasha through the last of his midterms. He’d popped in to get a green tea (half-demons and caffeine were usually a pretty bad combination), fully planning on heading back to the library to study some more. He hated the smell of coffee, and the clangorous sounds of the espresso machines, and the idle chatter of all the other college students that his dog-like ears could never completely drown out.</p><p>But that day, Inuyasha knew he would need to get used to going to coffee shops. So that, on the day he finally worked up the courage, maybe Kagome would be there, and maybe he could talk to her.</p>
<hr/><p>“Hey Inuyasha, green tea again?” Shippō asked as Inuyasha walked into Musashi.</p><p>“Yeah, fox. And… can I get a chocolate croissant?” Inuyasha scanned the room.</p><p>“She’s not here yet,” Shippō giggled, causing Inuyasha to growl. It had only taken a week for the fox to notice. Then again, half-demons were rare, and Inuyasha certainly stood out. “And no, you’re not that obvious. Just to me.”</p><p>“Oh.” Inuyasha nodded curtly, and grabbed the croissant and the tea out of Shippō’s hand. “I wasn’t looking…”</p><p>“Sure.” Shippō rolled his eyes.</p><p>In one month, Inuyasha had gone from a ‘one time thing’ to a regular at Musashi Coffee. Every day, in the afternoon, Inuyasha grabbed his green tea and usually some sort of sweet, then he sat down at the one-person high tables, one with a view of the rest of the shop, and pulled out his laptop, did his work, and waited. Most days…</p><p>“Hey Kagome!” Shippō called overly loudly as the door opened. “One skinny triple latte coming up!”</p><p>“Thanks Shippō!” Kagome’s voice was like the sighs of wind chimes in a gentle summer breeze.</p><p>Inuyasha glanced up from his laptop, trying not to make it obvious how much he stared. As Kagome passed him, she gave him a glance and a whisper of a smile. (He fucking <em>lived</em> for that smile.)</p><p>That was their routine. Kagome would get her drink, then settle into her corner table with her laptop. Inuyasha would pretend not to be staring soppily at Kagome, ‘working’ on his laptop (which mostly included surfing websites, often with titles like <em>How to break the ice with someone you like</em>). He’d listen to the way her fingers contacted her laptop keys, he’d take a deep inhale to let her scent bathe his nostrils, and he’d think about how maybe tomorrow, he’d finally get up the nerve to talk to her.</p><p>Inuyasha often pulled up the photograph (he’d digitized it, for comparison purposes only!). He couldn’t stop wanting to know when the sparkle came back into her eyes, or what it was that had made her so beautifully sad before. Today though, he actually had work to do. It was project time in his engineering class, and he was tasked with investigating different types of carbon fiber. And Kagome was there to inspire him, even if she didn’t entirely know it yet.</p><p>“See you later, Shippō!” The exclamation broke Inuyasha out of his carbon-fiber induced trance.</p><p>“Bye Kagome!” Shippō called back, and she disappeared out the door of Musashi Coffee. As soon as she was out of earshot, Shippō shot Inuyasha a frown. “You should talk to her. She doesn’t bite.”</p><p>“What? I—I have no desire to talk to her,” Inuyasha lied.</p><p>“Mmmhmm, sure.” Shippō actually managed to roll his eyes with his <em>voice</em>. “I’m guessing that you’re ready to head out too, dog-boy?”</p><p>“Shut up, <em>fox</em>,” Inuyasha barked, “and yeah. I am ready to go.”</p><p>“See you tomorrow, then,” Shippō waved as Inuyasha collected his things and left.</p><p>He might’ve been completely obvious to the damn fox, but that was fine. He’d figure out how to talk to Kagome eventually. He just needed a bit more time.</p>
<hr/><p>It had only happened one time before. He actually <em>walked into</em> Musashi Coffee at the same time as Kagome, and today, unlike that other time, she gifted him with a big, bright, sparkling smile. He <em>thought</em> he smiled back, but was worried it came off more as a grimace, because Inuyasha really <em>really</em> wanted to avoid baring his fangs at her.</p><p>“Thanks,” Kagome said as Inuyasha held the door open for her. He nodded, afraid that if he tried to say words he’d scare her.</p><p>“Hey Kagome; hey Inuyasha!” Shippō called. “Let me guess. A skinny latte and a green tea. Either of you want anything else? Kaede’s new recipe for spanakopita is really good. You should try it!”</p><p>“Sure Shippō!” Kagome chirped; Inuyasha pursed his lips to keep himself from grinning at her voice. She could make reading a cookbook sound appealing.</p><p>“Y—yeah, I’ll… take one too,” Inuyasha mumbled, trying to not pay attention to Kagome looking at him (probably because this was one of the first times she’d ever heard him say anything.)</p><p>“Okay, I’m on it!” Shippō sounded entirely too chipper as he said it, but maybe that was because Shippō really liked Kagome (Inuyasha could relate).</p><p>Inuyasha settled into his regular table and watched as Kagome found her way to the corner table. Carbon fibers weren’t going to research themselves after all. Shippō had delivered his drink and his spanakopita to him just as he opened his laptop up to get to work.</p><p>“Here ya go.” Shippō placed the plate and the to-go cup down next to him. “I’ll be in the back if you need me.”</p><p>Inuyasha waved Shippō away, not paying attention to the mischievous sparkle in his eye (perhaps he should have) and returned his focus to his carbon materials report. The spanakopita did smell lovely, and <em>pungent</em>. It overpowered his nostrils in a way that bordered on unpleasant. Inuyasha wasn’t hungry just yet, but was ready for a little caffeine boost.</p><p>“Excuse me, Inuyasha?” A light tap came to Inuyasha’s shoulder. He knew that scent. He knew that voice. <em>Kagome.</em> “Um, looks like Shippō got our drink orders mixed up. I got your tea and… I think you might have my latte?”</p><p>“O—oh.” <em>The fucking fox set him up. </em>“I—I do. Uh, sorry about that.”</p><p>“Wh—what are you studying?” Kagome leaned over him to look at his laptop. God, she smelled amazing: like cherry blossoms and vanilla.</p><p>“C—carbon fibers,” Inuyasha said. “Not… the most interesting thing ever.”</p><p>“Mind if… I join you?” A little dash of pink blossomed across the bridge of Kagome’s nose as she asked, and her eyes sparkled with hope.</p><p>“Yeah… uh… no… I mean—” Inuyasha was not doing well with words. “Yes, I—I’d like the company.”</p><p>“Okay,” Kagome chirped, relief laced in her voice, and she headed to her corner table to grab her laptop and cafe wares.</p><p>Had Kagome, the girl that haunted Inuyasha for 2 years and 1 month really just asked to sit with him? He’d been whinging and stressing out about saying two words to her and here she was, <em>asking to spend time with him</em>?</p><p>“So… why green tea?” Kagome asked as she sat down across from Inuyasha, and swapped their drinks.</p><p>“Coffee is too much for… dog demon senses,” Inuyasha said honestly, “add to that, caffeine really affects me, so… I try to limit myself.”</p><p>“Oh, that’s too bad. Musashi has some of the best coffee around,” Kagome said, a soft smile on her beautiful face. “So, why are you studying carbon fibers?”</p><p>“O—oh, for a class project,” Inuyasha answered; <em>holy shit, Kagome was asking him questions and trying to get to know him</em>. “I’m a material sciences engineering student. Working on understanding what sorts of carbon fiber are optimized for what types of jobs is my part of the project. So, lots of carbon in my life right now.”</p><p>“Good thing life is carbon-based, huh?” Kagome chuckled, then stopped herself, a blush coming across her face. “Oh, god. I’m not usually that corny.”</p><p>It was then that it dawned on Inuyasha that Kagome was not just being nice, not just in it for some company, but was <em>flirting with him</em>.</p><p>“I… I thought it was a cute joke,” Inuyasha admitted—that wasn’t the <em>only thing that was cute</em>. “So, what are <em>you</em> working on?”</p><p>“Promise not to laugh at me?” Kagome raised an eyebrow. At Inuyasha’s nod, she continued. “I’m writing… a <em>novel</em>.”</p><p>“That’s fucking <em>awesome!</em>” Inuyasha could feel his ears perk, confirmed by the little glance Kagome took up at the top of his head, followed by a smile. (Kagome liked his ears!)</p><p>“It’s… something,” Kagome sighed. “I’m in this independent study class with an English professor, and part of the course is to write something. I’m… I’m writing about my life.”</p><p>“I bet you’ve lived an interesting life,” Inuyasha blurted before he could stop himself; her sad and accepting eyes in the photograph he still had stashed in his apartment spoke of that.</p><p>“Y—yeah, I guess,” And suddenly, there it was. The quiet grief of the photo, right there in front of him, living in Kagome’s eyes.</p><p>“S—sorry. I didn’t mean to pry,” Inuyasha backtracked. “I mean, I’m a half-demon. And let me tell you the <em>shit</em> I had to put up with because of that.” He was oversharing. “I’ll shut up now.”</p><p>“How about… we talk about this some more. Maybe,” Kagome paused, gulped, then brought her eyes to Inuyasha’s. “Maybe over dinner sometime?”</p><p>Inuyasha needed to wipe what he could only imagine was the dumbest look in the history of looks off his face at the fact that Kagome, the girl he’d been thinking about for <em>two fucking years</em> had just asked <em>him out</em>. Him, a half-demon who couldn’t keep his trap shut.</p><p>“Y—yeah, I’d like that,” Inuyasha was definitely baring his fangs at the moment from the size of his smile. “Can—can I get your number?”</p><p>“Sure,” Kagome chortled, taking Inuyasha’s phone from him and entering herself in his address book. “And <em>saved</em>.” Then with a wink, Kagome hit a couple more buttons, eliciting a friendly ping from <em>her </em>phone. “And now I have your number.”</p><p>“Awesome!” Inuyasha could feel his damn ears wiggling, but he really didn’t care. He was going to get to plan a date with Kagome, the girl in the photograph.</p><p>Shippō just stood and watched, rolling his eyes prolifically. He really should have thought to switch their drink orders sooner.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Real Life is So Much Better</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Inuyasha probably overdid their first date. No, he <em>definitely</em> overdid it. Because he needed to compensate for the one really, really big ‘<em>I hamstered away a photo of you for two years and have no idea how you’ll react’ </em>sword of Damocles level reveal that was hanging over his head. And he wanted to have at least a <em>chance</em> that she would not run away and never come back.</p>
<p>So, he overplanned. A lot. He was an engineer, after all. And he hoped (desperately) that if he said things <em>just the right way</em>, everything would work out. Because he liked Kagome. A lot. Not girl-in-the-photograph-with-the-haunted-eyes Kagome: no, the real life Kagome that secretly smiled at her laptop and teased Shippō endlessly and… liked him enough to ask him on a date and gave him her number and… well, Inuyasha was sort of in trouble.</p>
<p>They’d been texting nearly nonstop since Kagome asked for his phone number. About struggling with classes, and life experiences, and hobbies, and the little things they found joy in. And dinner in a few days became ‘hanging out’ <em>tomorrow</em>.</p>
<p>So Inuyasha planned. And Inuyasha hoped.</p>
<p><em>Almost there!</em> 😊<br/>
Kagome had an adorable habit of using emoji in all her text messages.</p>
<p>Inuyasha took three deep breaths. He could do this! He had the basket and the blanket. And he had his camera on his shoulder and a certain compromising picture in his jacket pocket. The hike was more a walk, and was to a bed along the busy river so Kagome wasn’t in an isolated place with him when he told her about the whole ‘holding onto a picture of a stranger who just happened to be her for two years’ thing.</p>
<p>Then the waft of cherry blossoms and vanilla hit his nose, and he turned. Kagome wore a bright green pair of overall shorts atop a white half-sleeved shirt with red trim. She had bright green sneakers, and was carrying one of those mini-backpacks that Inuyasha had never understood the utility of. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun, and her eyes sparkled like chocolate opals in the sunlight. Inuyasha whimpered. Because he wanted to see that bright face and those pink cheeks every goddamned day, like he had the entire past month at the coffee shop where he bought tea he sort of hated and croissants he sort of liked.</p>
<p>“Hey Inuyasha!” Kagome stood on her tiptoes and waved, as if there was ever the prospect that he wouldn’t see her there.</p>
<p>Inuyasha waved back and waited for her to bound up to him. Kagome <em>bounced</em> when she walked, and she smiled easily and sighed at simple delights. She was the girl in the photograph, but not. That may have been why Inuyasha didn’t let it go. Didn’t simply let the crumpled photo complete its journey to the dump. Because he needed to know what cured the grief that reached down to her bones. The grief which now Inuyasha had only seen in that photograph.</p>
<p>“Oh! I see a camera. Do you take photos?” Kagome pointed at the DSLR Inuyasha had tucked underneath his arm.</p>
<p>“Y—yeah,” Inuyasha answered, aware of the way his voice had cracked. “It’s probably my favorite hobby.”</p>
<p>That would always be true. He <em>loved</em> taking photos. He loved sitting behind the shutter and lining up an image <em>just the right way</em>. He adored getting up at ungodly hours and bounding out of campus to some trail and getting there in time to take shots when the first rays of light penetrated the landscape.</p>
<p>“That’s really cool!” Kagome said, taking Inuyasha’s arm and setting them both off down the trail. “I’m surprised I never saw you with that camera in the cafe.”</p>
<p>“Ah… not really a <em>people</em> photographer,” Inuyasha murmured.</p>
<p>Inuyasha actually really did like taking shots of people too, but… no one wanted a half-demon taking photos of them.</p>
<p>“That’s too bad.” Kagome’s eyes trapped his own, as if she was sensing the <em>more</em> there that he hadn’t said.</p>
<p>“Keh, it’s fine,” Inuyasha lied.</p>
<p>“Well, as long as you promise not to show them to anyone…” Kagome moved her hand down to hold Inuyasha’s hand. “You can take pictures of me. They’ll be bad but…”</p>
<p>“No fucking way.” Inuyasha’s mouth had a mind of its own, blurting out that admission before he could help himself.</p>
<p>Kagome didn’t answer, but a squeeze to his hand and a slight pink hue to her nose told him that she didn’t mind his answer (which was the truth, dammit!).</p>
<p>“I… I had an ex who used to take pictures,” Kagome said, her eyes on the trail that ran before them. “He used to say that I wasn’t that photogenic.”</p>
<p>Inuyasha almost tripped on his feet at Kagome’s statement. He <em>knew</em> that to be bullshit. Because he had the proof.</p>
<p>He also officially hated the ex’s guts with the fiery passion of ten thousand suns for making Kagome feel that way.</p>
<p>“I doubt that.” Inuyasha was having a harder and harder time with the picture that was burning a hole in his pocket. “I highly doubt that.”</p>
<p>“Oh, you know. He didn’t really let me see most of them. And when we broke up, he told me he threw them all away,” Kagome mused; and now Inuyasha <em>wished</em> that he’d gotten to the dark room even faster 2 years ago.</p>
<p>“Do ya ever wish you could see them?” Inuyasha asked. He knew it was self-serving, but, <em>shit</em>, he’d take any help he could get if it meant his admission would not drive Kagome away.</p>
<p>“I… I don’t know,” Kagome said, letting out a sigh. “It was a weird time in my life, you know? And Hōjo was a pretty good photographer. Just… I wish the rest of him was as interesting as his photos.” Then Kagome stopped and slapped her unoccupied hand against her forehead. “Listen to me go. First date and I’m talking about my ex? Nice one, Kagome.”</p>
<p>“Mine had a weird hair fetish,” Inuyasha sighed; might as well make Kagome feel better. “Like <em>weird</em>.”</p>
<p>Kagome glanced up and down Inuyasha’s hair (which he’d left down), then giggled. “It’s nice hair.”</p>
<p>“Keh.” Inuyasha wasn’t going to tell Kagome more about Yura, but… the idea of her running her fingers through it, well, it appealed a <em>whole lot more </em>to him than the clawed demon who he <em>swore</em> cut pieces of it when he wasn’t paying attention.</p>
<p>The rest of the hike was far less awkward. Inuyasha talked a bit about material sciences (and a bit about being the only half-demon anywhere in sight in engineering), and about his roommate Miroku and his womanizing ways. Kagome talked about the creative writing program she was in (<em>and loving</em>). Apparently she had a fat cat named Buyo, and was only a little surprised that Inuyasha liked cats (he had his own, a Ragdoll named Kirara). An hour passed them both by before either so much as noticed it happening, and finally, they came to grass in the bend of the river, one of Inuyasha’s favorite places.</p>
<p>“This is <em>beautiful!</em>” Kagome exclaimed, taking in the soft grass bed that was surrounded by the trees, listening to the soft tinkles of water hitting rocks and changing direction.</p>
<p>Inuyasha finally opened the basket, and removed the blanket, giving it one enthusiastic shake before letting it float down onto the ground. He then grabbed the food: a couple chocolate croissants (thanks to Shippō), a thermos of green tea and one with a skinny triple latte, and the spanakopita that sparked his chance to be on a date with her.</p>
<p>“This is all from Musashi, isn’t it?” Kagome settled herself onto the blanket and looked at Inuyasha’s spread.</p>
<p>“Y—yeah,” Inuyasha stuttered out, “I… I wanted to be sure you’d like what I picked.”</p>
<p>“So you picked things from our coffee shop,” Kagome giggled. Then she rested her hand on Inuyasha’s calf.</p>
<p>Fuck, telling her was going to be <em>torture</em>. When she touched him like that, so full of affection. So full of <em>everything in his life he was missing.<br/>
</em>(Okay, that was possibly a bit of an overstatement, but not by much.)</p>
<p>But it also made absolutely clear that he <em>needed to tell Kagome about the picture. Right now.</em></p>
<p>“Uh, before we continue, I… kinda sorta have to tell you something.” Inuyasha sat down next to her, and looked in her eyes as he pawed at the bottom of the basket, feeling the smoothed photograph within.</p>
<p>“Okay…” Kagome looked at him curiously.</p>
<p>Inuyasha placed the photo in front of them, then watched as Kagome looked down and saw the photo of her staring back. Then back up at Inuyasha, her eyes wide and confused.</p>
<p>“What—” Kagome started, but seemed to lose steam (and words) after the first.</p>
<p>“Uh… so yeah. Back during my sophomore year, I took a photography class. And… I sorta,” Inuyasha cringed, “<em>found this</em> photo in the garbage.” <em>Fuck</em>, every muscle in Kagome’s body had tensed. “Have you—have you seen the Migrant Woman photo by Dorothea Lange?” Inuyasha wrung his hands, which he’d set firmly in his own lap. “Well… when I saw this, I just. I wanted to know what made the girl in it so sad. Why… why she looked like everything around her was crashing down.” Kagome hadn’t backed away, hadn’t screamed; she just sat stock still, her eyes still fixed on the photo. “And yeah… for some reason I picked it up,” (Inuyasha knew <em>exactly the reason he picked it up</em>), “and have had it ever since.”</p>
<p>Inuyasha paused. What else could he say? He was the weird stalker that had a picture of Kagome for how fucking long? Oh, there was one more thing she should probably know.</p>
<p>“I… I never thought I’d meet the girl in the photograph or anything, so… seeing you in the coffee shop sorta came as a complete surprise.” Inuyasha hoped that she trusted him not to be lying. “And the photo has excellent composition and stuff and was one of those maybe someday goals I could get good enough to—”</p>
<p>“Stop.” Kagome broke Inuyasha out of his explanation. “Did you… did you seriously take me on our first date planning on showing me this?”</p>
<p>“Y—yeah.” Inuyasha had fucked up so royally.</p>
<p>“Because…” Kagome looked up at Inuyasha’s drooping ears, “because you wanted to make sure I <em>knew</em> about the whole… keeping a picture of me thing… before anything happened?” Kagome then looked around, catching sight of a group of students punting down the river. “Wait. So this spot is not a coincidence either, is it?”</p>
<p>“N—no.” It was taking all of Inuyasha’s self control not to run away and pretend it never happened, to just take his rejection before she called him a stalker or… or an <em>animal</em>. “It—<em>uh—</em>it’s secluded but there are always people on the river goin’ by and stuff. So… you’re not by yourself with me…”</p>
<p>He could feel the shame heat his cheeks. This was a bad idea. A <em>fucking bad idea.</em></p>
<p>Then, he felt a hand cover his hands.</p>
<p>“I appreciate it,” Kagome whispered. “Hōjo really <em>was</em> a good photographer.” Then she scooched closer to Inuyasha, so close in fact, that their bodies were in contact. “You’re too honorable, you know that?”</p>
<p>“Wh—what?” Inuyasha was still trying to understand the whole Kagome-moving-closer-to-him thing after he admitted to keeping a photo of her.</p>
<p>“Most guys wouldn’t admit to <em>anything</em> like this. Especially not on the first date,” Kagome sighed, then leaned her head against Inuyasha’s shoulder—<em>what the fuck was happening?!</em> “You tell me straight away when things might get serious. Because you couldn’t stand the secret.” Then Kagome turned her head to him, just enough that he could stare into those twinkling chocolate opals. “One thing, though…”</p>
<p>“<em>Anything</em>,” Inuyasha said; had it really just worked out?</p>
<p>“Why did you tell me about it?” Kagome asked, her brows knit as she turned her gaze back down to the photo. “It’s just a photo… you—you could’ve never told me.”</p>
<p>Inuyasha sighed, but it was a sigh that released all the tension, all the nerves, all the worry. He wasn’t afraid anymore, of telling her the truth; the truth felt good.</p>
<p>“Because I want to know why you looked so sad,” Inuyasha said, glancing from the photo back to Kagome, “and what makes you so happy now.”</p>
<p>Kagome smiled, and nuzzled Inuyasha’s shoulder affectionately (<em>fuck, he was already a goner</em>).</p>
<p>“I can’t believe you have this,” Kagome said, but even without looking at her face, he could feel the smile that radiated from her. “I know exactly when he took this.”</p>
<p>“C—can you tell me?” Inuyasha asked, then with a little chuckle, added, “Leave out the parts about the ex.”</p>
<p>Kagome’s laugh rang like music in the air, and she scooted herself even closer, letting Inuyasha’s arm come around her.</p>
<p>“You know <a href="https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa">FAFSA</a>, right?” When Inuyasha nodded, Kagome continued. “Well, turns out if you make a typo in just the right spot, you can actually completely nullify your financial aid. And lucky me, I found the magic typo. Basically, I accidentally listed my sex as Male instead of Female. Long story short, because I wasn’t registered for the Selective Service, my entire financial aid package got dropped. And… somehow Hōjo snapped that shot right after I got off the phone.” Kagome sighed, and suddenly a shadow of the melancholy from the photograph appeared on her face. “My… family is not well off. My mom is a single mom and lives with my ailing grandfather. Without that aid, I… I couldn’t go to college.”</p>
<p>Kagome’s voice wavered; Inuyasha pulled her in as close to his body as he could.</p>
<p>“Well anyway. I… I thought I was going to have to drop out of college, and—” Kagome chuffed wryly, “Hōjo always got the shot, even when all I wanted was a hug.”</p>
<p>“But you’re here.” Inuyasha roped his other arm around Kagome, because he sure as <em>fuck</em> would give her every goddamned hug she would ever want.</p>
<p>“Yeah, yeah I am,” Kagome said, a private smile on her face. “It… it made me do the thing I was too scared to do.” Kagome actually resettled herself so that she was in Inuyasha’s lap; they were unambiguously snuggling now. “I wrote an essay. Last ditch effort. Asking the Emily Dickinson Society for a scholarship. They have this amazing one I was too intimidated to apply for: full scholarship plus full room and board, and it gives you a creative writing mentor. And… well… desperate times call for desperate measures.” Kagome sighed, and Inuyasha knew her eyes were twinkling. “And… I got it.”</p>
<p>Kagome then turned, so she could see him. “You lose out on 100% of the shots you don’t take. And so, from that day on, I vowed I’d always take the chance.”</p>
<p>“That’s… that’s amazing advice,” Inuyasha chuckled. He didn’t know what to say; it all made so much fucking sense.</p>
<p>“Yeah! It’s why—why I finally got up the courage to ask you out,” Kagome whispered, a blush coming across her face.</p>
<p>“So… my hoarding a photo of you didn’t scare ya away?” Inuyasha teased (though he was half-serious).</p>
<p>“You weren’t lying when you said it was beautiful,” Kagome sighed. “Like Dorothea Lange, right?”</p>
<p>“Y—yeah.”</p>
<p>“Guess it proves I’m not as un-photogenic as Hōjo claimed,” Kagome deadpanned. “He was a pretty amazing photographer.” She then ghosted a touch over Inuyasha’s jaw. “Thank you. For keeping it.”</p>
<p>“Keh.” Inuyasha had no idea what else to say.</p>
<p>This was <em>beyond</em> the best-case scenario he imagined in his head (save for all those compliments to that limpdick ex of hers).</p>
<p>“Hey… Inuyasha, <em>thank you</em> for this. For giving me that special moment, and this one too.” Kagome leaned backward, taking him fully in once more. “And um. I have a request.”</p>
<p>“<em>Anything</em>.” It was the second time he said it, and it was the second time it was true.</p>
<p>“Would you… maybe… <em>take my picture?</em>”</p><hr/>
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<a href="https://kalcia.tumblr.com/post/646189701241372672/second-chapter-of-the-girl-in-the-photograph-is">

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<p>Artwork commission by <a href="https://kalcia.tumblr.com">kalcia</a></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you want to read an extraordinary story with a <i>professional</i> photographer Inuyasha, check out <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26047084/chapters/63343312">The Fifth Flavor</a> by <a href="https://cannibalsforbreakfast.tumblr.com/">Laeoukka</a>!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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